Supporting the Food Fortification Resource Centre (FFRC)

In 2016, the Tata Trusts took the initiative to provide a single platform for government stakeholders, ministries, state governments, development partners and industrial institutions, particularly food manufacturers, processers and fortification pre-mix makers to work together towards staple food fortification in order to improve nutrition security.

In view of this, a Food Fortification Resource Centre funded by the Tata Trusts and housed at the (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s) FSSAI headquarters in Delhi, has been set up to scale up fortification across the country. The FFRC is responsible for supporting implementation of Indian food fortification regulations, 2018. The FSSAI-FFRC has also launched a logo for fortification — the + F Logo — which is a mark for fortified products in India. It is also responsible for providing support to the states and union territories and food manufacturers to adopt fortification.

The primary goal of the FFRC is to address the deficiency of vitamins and minerals that are needed for a healthy nation. For this, a two-pronged strategy has been adopted by scaling up fortification, both in the safety net programmes (mid-day meals, integrated child development services and public distribution services) and making fortified foods available in the open market for all.

Some of the key functions of the FFRC are:
  • Providing all information pertaining to fortification of food such as scientific evidence, latest fortification technology, national and international experience, government circulars and orders along with the success stories of various states and the food industry.
  • Educating people about the benefits of fortified foods.
  • Sensitising states about food fortification and promoting them in the safety net programmes to curb the incidence of micronutrient deficiencies.
  • Providing technical support especially to small scale food manufacturers to enable them to produce fortified foods.
  • Training and building capacity for large-scale fortification of foods and providing tools to share communication material and lend technical, scientific and financial support to promote large-scale fortification of food.

The FFRC’s fortification programme works across India. In the open market, voluntary fortification has begun for five staples, with faster adoption in the oil and milk industries. Currently, 70 of India’s top national and regional brands have 113 fortified products available in the retail market. In the government safety net programmes, 17 states and 4 union territories have so far adopted fortification of their chosen commodities at the district level (all districts) in the ICDS, MDM and PDS programmes. 

Major Partners:
  • Line Ministries: Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Department of Food and Public Distribution, India (DoFPD), NITI Aayog, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW)
  • Development Partners:
    • Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN)
    • PATH (a global team of innovators to accelerate health equity so people of all communities can thrive)
    • World Bank Group
    • Nutrition International
    • World Food Programme
    • The India Nutrition Initiative (TINI)
    • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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